I agree with everything you wrote.
I would just add that probably the alternative to Gnome is not XFCE but KDE Plasma due to the fact that XFCE is too slow moving so it is borderline to the “legacy” area. Right now If I had to put together a “linux offering” that would be only Gnome and KDE, other DEs are usable but too “retro”. I mean, there are people who still insist using LXDE despite the project was abandoned years ago because of GTK 3. Some even Openbox alone, last update I guess was around 2015. Freedom of choice for sure but not an “investment”.